Construction paper, straw, tape, scissors, markers, string
Length:
Build time: 5-10 minutes Academic Subjects: Science This lesson supports the following standards: Arts: PreK-5 VA.Cr.1 SOC: 4.6e SCI: 3-PS2-2, 4-PS3-1, 4-PS3-2, 3-5-ETS1-3
Directions:
Did you know Buffalo played an integral role in the space race to the Moon? Even some of the rockets the astronauts on the mission to the moon were built right in our backyard. Today we are going to build our very own rockets.
Your mission if you choose to accept it; the scientists at Moon Base 13 need your help! A distress call has been sent out and you need to send them a rocket ship as soon as possible! Can you help the scientists!?
1.) Take your piece of construction paper and design your rocket ship. Let your imagination run wild if you want you can change your spaceship to an airplane, shooting star, or even a person using a jetpack. (The jetpack was also invented in Western New York!)
2.) Once you have designed and colored your ship, cut it out.
3.) Next, we are going to cut the straw to fit our ship. Depending on your rocket ship size, the straw should be about a half-inch long.
4.) Tape the straw to the back of your ship. Then, fold your string in half and slide it through your straw.
5.) Find the nearest door know or have a grown-up hold the looped end of the string. Once the looped piece is anchored, hold the other two pieces of string and count down from five and pull both pieces of the string apart. BLAST OFF!!
Construction paper, glue stick, scissors, marker. For a modified version you can use string, and beads.
Length:
Set up: 5 Minutes Activity 15-30 Minutes
Academic Subject(s):
Math, Art, Counting. This lesson supports the following NYS Curriculum Standards:PK.ARTS.16, PK.MATH.2, PK.MATH.3, PK.MATH.4b, PK.MATH.8, K.CC.A.3, K.CC.B.4, K.OA.A.1
Have your child practice their counting skills while you count and complete the 2020 Census! This fun art project about an octopus will get your child practicing counting, number recognition and fine motor skills. You can also practice counting with your child when completing your 2020 Census online. Have your child help you count the number of people who live in your household. Are there any other numbers on the 2020 Census your child can help you count?
Directions:
Step 1: Cut a half circle out with construction paper, this will be the octopus head. Step 2: Cut out 8 separate strips of paper, these will be the tentacles. Step 3: Connect the 8 tentacles to the head with glue or tape. Step 4: Place dots increasing from 1 to 8 on each tentacle. You can use anything for the dots including making marks with crayons or makers. Add the numeric digit to the top of each tentacle to correspond with the number of dots below.
This is a great opportunity for your child to practice both counting and fine motor skills. A great add on step is having the adult draw an outline of a circle representing the number on the tentacle then the child can use dabbers, stickers, cotton balls etc. to carefully place the material inside the outlined circle.
Step 5: Decorate the octopus, you can also create a background for your octopus. I glued mine on a blue piece of paper to represent the ocean!
Modifications:
Once your child has created their octopus you can easily use this craft as a tool to assist in counting and math. For purposes of addition you can add the dots of selected legs (leg 2 plus leg 4 equals 6). Subtraction can be done via the opposite (leg 3 minus leg 1 equals 2).
Vocabulary Words
Tentacle: A limb from an animal, especially invertebrates. Octopus’ tentacles are what you might call arms or legs. Intelligent: Something or someone who shows that they have knowledge. To be smart! Octopus are some of the most intelligent animals on the planet! Ink: A usually dark liquid that’s released by some animal species when they are threatened or in danger. An octopus uses ink to escape predators.
Written by: Amelia Schrader Senior Manager of Learning and Education
Materials:
Two paper bags Two straws Tape Pen
Length:
About 10 minutes
Academic Subject:
Arts Science Development Subject Areas: Cognition – Knowledge of the World Fine Motor Development Gross Motor Development
With so many friends and family members currently under the care of a doctor it is more important than ever to show appreciation for those who work tirelessly to make us feel better. These doctors, nurses, lab techs, hospital administrators and janitors are all working around the clock to make sure we stay healthy.
The current global pandemic, the COVID-19 Virus, is attacking a very important part of our body, our lungs. However, it can be hard for children to understand why lungs are so important and how they function. This simple activity will give children a hands on way of understanding this important concept.
Directions:
Step 1: Label one paper bag “Left Lung” and the other “Right Lung” Step 2: Draw the bronchioles and alveoli on the paper bags, use the same side you wrote on during Step 1. Step 3: Place the straw in the top of each bag, twist the top of the bag around the straw and securing it with tape. Step 4: Practice inflating your paper bag lungs for a visual representation of how YOUR lungs work!
Our lungs help to bring oxygen to our bodies and expel carbon dioxide. When we breath, air is brought into our body through your mouth or nose and down your windpipe all the way into your left and right lungs. When your lungs are inflated they oxygenate the blood which gets pumped to the rest of your body. As you breathe out your lungs expel carbon dioxide. More information about lungs can be found here.
Vocabulary Words
· Doctor: a person who is qualified to practice medicine and treats people that are sick · Lung: A pair of organs inside our chest, behind the rib cage. These organs are responsible for getting oxygen to our blood and the rest of our body. · Bronchi: The main stem or tube that brings air to the left and right lungs. · Bronchioles: These are the tiny tubs that stem from the bronchi. There are about 30,000 bronchioles in each lung. · Alveoli: The tiny clusters or air sacs at the end of the bronchioles. · Inflate: to fill with air or gas
Written by: Amelia Schrader Senior Manager of Learning and Education
Materials
Firefighter: Shallow, large bin, Squirt bottle, Small paper or plastic cups Police Officer: Paper, drawing material (crayons, markers etc.) Garbage Collector: Colored rice, Tweezers, Storage bin, Small bin labeled “Garbage”, Small toys or pieces of paper
Length:
Set up time: 20 minutes Play Time: Unlimited
Academic Subject(s):
Arts, Social Studies
Happy Census Day! The decennial census only occurs once every ten years and it is critical to accurately count every member of your household help influence billions of dollars in federal funding that goes to schools, hospitals and other critical community resources. These resources provided much needed resources to our community helpers!
These activities will help your child understand the important roles of different community helpers and how YOU can help them by participating in the 2020 Decennial Census!
Directions:
Step 1: What is a community helper? A community helper is someone who works in our community to improve the overall health and well being of the community. Ask your child for some examples of community helpers. Examples include: firefighters, police officers, teachers, doctors, construction workers, mail carriers, bus drivers, soldiers, dentists, librarians, and grocery store workers. Each of the next steps look a little closer at a few of our community helpers that need you to accurately complete your 2020 Census to receive the resources they need to keep our community safe!
Step 2 (Firefighter): Firefighters help members of our community during an emergency. In addition to putting out fires, they also help rescue people during car accidents or when assist with an animal is in distress. This activity allows children to explore one of the jobs of a firefighter through sensory play. 1. Fill the squirt bottle with water. 2. Stack the paper/plastic cups into a pyramid inside the shallow bin. Aim the squirt bottle and attempt to knock down the paper cups. 3. Re-stack as many times as you want to continue the fun! 4. You can add some number recognition practice by numbering each cup and encouraging children to aim at a specific number, aim at the cups in numerical order, aim at the cups in reverse numerical order and/or skip count! You will need a permanent marker to label the cups.
While your child is playing, discuss the other important activities that firefighters perform to help keep our community safe! If our community is accurately counted in the 2020 Census, Firefighters will be able to access valuable resources like new equipment, more jobs and enhancements to vehicles.
Step 3 (Police Officer): Police officers also help our community during emergencies. They are here to protect us from criminals, respond to accidents, locate lost people and control traffic when needed. This activity allows children an opportunity to thank a police officer for all of their hard work protecting our community! 1. Use a piece of paper to draw a picture of one of the many jobs a police officer does to help keep our community safe! 2. Write “Thank you for serving our community” on the top of the paper. You can copy these letters or ask your grown up for help! 3. Drop off the card or mail it to your local precinct. You can also give this card to an officer in person! (Please be mindful of social distancing practices in place for Spring 2020)
Step 4 (Garbage Collector): Garbage collectors are vital to our community. Through this sensory play activity, children will develop fine motor skills while understanding the important role of garbage collectors. 1. Set up sensory bin by filling the large storage bin with colored rice (you can also use plain rice, water beads, sand or other filler material you have around the house). 2. Place small toys in the colored rice carefully burying some of them beneath the top layer. Be careful to use appropriate size toys to prevent choking hazards. You can also use cut up paper squares if you do not have appropriate sized toys. 3. Explain to your child that the small toys are actually “garbage” and they need to be sorted out from the rest of the bin. Give your child the tweezers and show them how to use this tool. Have your child practice using the tweezers to sort the “garbage” out of the sensory bin and dropping it into the small bin on the side. Garbage collectors will benefit from an accurate 2020 Census count though proper distribution of resources to help them do their jobs and keep our planet clean!
Working through these various projects together helps your child understand that YOU can help our important community helpers by participating in the 2020 Census.
Vocabulary Words
· Census – The process by which the government counts people. The data collected in the 2020 Census will be used to assess state and local voting districts and influence how $800 billion in federal funds are distributed throughout the country. · Community Helper – A community helper is someone who works in our community to improve the overall health and well being of the community. Examples include: firefighters, police officers, teachers, doctors, construction workers, mail carriers, bus drivers, soldiers, dentists, librarians, and grocery store workers.
Written by: Amelia Schrader Senior Manager of Learning and Education
Materials
Red, Yellow, Blue, Green, Orange and Purple Squares Full sheet of Black or Brown Construction paper Pencil Scissors Glue
Length:
Approximately 20 minutes
Academic Subject(s):
Math, Arts, Social Studies This lesson supports your child’s PreK – 1st Grade Curriculum: PK.PDH.5, PK.MATH.1, PK.MATH.12, PK.ARTS.16 K.SEL.3, K.SOC.41.ARTS.17
Did you know that newborns and children under 5 are the most underrepresented populations in the census? Accurately counting every member of your household help influence billions of dollars in federal funding that goes to schools, hospitals and other critical community resources. In addition to funding resources in our community, the results of the 2020 Census helps to determine how many seats in Congress each state receives.
This activity gets both kiddos and their adults thinking about who to count in the 2020 Census.
Directions:
Step 1: Start by outlining the shape of your house on black or brown construction paper. Be creative here! Carefully cut out the outline.
Step 2: Cut out different color squares using the color code below. If you don’t have one of these colors just substitute it for one you do have! You can also use white paper and color the squares using crayons, markers or colored pencils.
Step 3: Count out the members of your household. Remember we are looking at the people who live with you most days of the year, not every member of your family. Make sure you have one square for each member of your family for example if you have two siblings you will need two orange squares for your house. Don’t forget a square to count yourself!
Step 4: Glue the squares into your house!
Step 5: Practice writing the names of each member of your household in their corresponding square. How many people live in your home? How many pets? Working through this art project together helps your child understand much more than the importance of the 2020 Census. Children will practice fine motor skills, color, letter and shape recognition, counting and one to one correspondence.
Vocabulary Words
· Census – The process by which the government counts people. The data collected in the 2020 Census will be used to assess state and local voting districts and influence how $800 billion in federal funds are distributed throughout the country.
· Outline – A line or set of lines used to indicate the outer edge or shape of an object.
· One to One Correspondence – The early childhood math skill of counting one object in a set once, and only once. This goes beyond the ability to count but relies on an understanding of number symbols representing a quantity.
